Letter writer Tim Lasuita, like many other Canadians, is appalled that Omar Khadr has been given a reported $10.5 million payment and an apology. Lasuita defends his position by virtue of good parenting as well as fears that Khadr’s lawyer might be affiliated with the Liberals. His reasoning troubles me.
Lasuita wants Canada, as if it were a parent, to punish a wayward child. Canada as Khadr’s parent? Doesn’t Lasuita ignore the facts that Khadr’s actual parent brought him into the fight, putting him in a position where he would die at the hands supporters, or he would be killed by the U.S. invaders, or miraculously he might live? As the bible commands, Khadr honored his father, obeying him. He fought, was shot and was subsequently held in prison. Might Lasuita, as a parent of a wayward child, not have protested the “slight” of a long incarceration in Guantanamo Bay prison?
Isn’t it material, that Stephen Harper awarded Maher Arar $10 million and an apology, both backed by a unanimous vote in the House of Commons? How about other Canadians wrongfully jailed who received similar settlements? Some of them even wrongfully confessed to the crime they were accused of.
Finally, being a Liberal or Liberal sympathizer is not treasonous, or contemptuous dismissal . If a child turns away from their parent’s political preferences, the child is not immoral or disowned. More likely the child is striving for independence. It’s a good thing, Dad, but rest assured that it may not be forever. That brings me my final observation, namely that the Khadr payment and apology is mired in politics. With politics, Khadr is simply an enemy terrorist receiving an unjust reward. Without politics, Khadr is but a wronged child soldier. Either way, it’s tragic.
Dale Boddy, Red Deer